www.ItsNotMental.com Children whose brain is affected by medical/biomedical, neurobiological, metabolic, functional problems, although not of a psychological/emotional origin, may still be diagnosed as what society euphemistically refers to as "mental illness."
Isn't it time to start calling those illnesses what they really are--ILLNESS--same as any other? (Español)

People get a lot more attention when they are involved with the label “schizophrenia”. That label has generated an enormous amount of revenue both for pharmaceutical companies as well as for research. A researcher studying some obscure illness might not get funds, but if that obscure illness is part of “schizophrenia”, they have a much better chance.

One chromosomal deletion, 22q11 (velocardiofacial syndrome), is considered to be a “leading cause” of childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), and is implicated in causing some cases of adult-onset schizophrenia as well.[1]

Sadly, even though studies show that cases of childhood-onset schizophrenia can cause brain matter deterioration seen MEDICALLY – i.e. by brain scans[2], it is still left in the “mental” illness garbage bucket instead of being treated with the same respect as a child with a brain tumor.

This particular “schizophrenia” is very different from the collective group of illnesses called “schizophrenia”. The complex genetic set causes only positive symptoms of schizophrenia (such as hallucinations) without the negative symptoms (no catatonia or lack of affect, motivation). Interestingly it also tends to cause obesity, and tends to only affect males because it is on the X chromosome so would need the same constellation of genetic changes from both parents to manifest in females. Because it only causes the hallucinatory symptoms of “schizophrenia”, the people with it are not as impaired and therefore have a better “prognosis” (outcome).

Next, there seems to be a host of mitochondrial DNA defects that can cause “schizophrenia”. Why it is still called “schizophrenia”, rather than coining new medical names for the illnesses, I can only guess at. My guess is that few people in the world would have that illness and the researchers would get no funding due to its obscurity. But as long as it is “schizophrenia” they have made a discovery garnering more attention. Searches for “schizophrenia” can bring up their important research.

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DISCLAIMER: We are just regular people blogging and commenting here. We are just sharing our OWN experiences. Therefore, nothing on this site is to be taken as medical or legal advice! Do not start, stop, or change medications, supplements, exercise programs, diet, sleep regimens, etc. without consulting a doctor.